


A Step Beyond the Rain

by no_big_deal



Series: Near Reylo, Near Perfect [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Accidental Stimulation, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Background GingerRose, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Food, Light Angst, Luaus, Marriage Proposal, Morning Sex, Multiple Orgasms, No Babies, No Pregnancy, Oral Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Rey does a lot of emotional labor, Romance, Vaginal Fingering, unintentional edging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:33:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29367084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no_big_deal/pseuds/no_big_deal
Summary: The Prompt:  Ben is surely going to propose to Rey this Valentine's Day. She found the Tiffany’s box in his dresser (turns out it's earrings) & he told her he was taking her out for Italian food (they end up at a crowded Olive Garden instead of the swanky private candlelit booth she imagined). She is utterly disappointed, but unbeknownst to her the most epic proposal is about to happen by the end of the night.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Near Reylo, Near Perfect [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2144415
Comments: 23
Kudos: 66
Collections: Reylo Valentine’s 2021





	A Step Beyond the Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElleRen31](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleRen31/gifts).



> Hello Friends! Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you enjoy this fic! I kept to the prompt with one minor twist — which for me, is huge as I am legendarily bad at following directions.
> 
> In my mind, this story is a continuation of [hundreds-and-thousands (of heartbeats for you)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27393763) a roommates to lovers one shot set in my town. You do not need to read it to understand this fic at all. But I'd love it if you did!
> 
> When all the world is a hopeless jumble  
> And the raindrops tumble all around  
> Heaven opens a magic lane  
> When all the clouds darken up the skyway  
> There’s a rainbow highway to be found  
> Leading from your windowpane  
> To a place behind the sun  
> Just a step beyond the rain  
> Somewhere, over the rainbow...

Rey shimmied gleefully across the room, shaking her ass to Bruno Mars as she got ready for her last date ever with her boyfriend, Ben. 

‘Cause after tonight, he wouldn’t be her boyfriend anymore.

He’d be her fiancé.

She’d seen the blue Tiffany’s box—hidden in Ben’s top dresser drawer—by accident last week. To her credit, she hadn’t peeked, but they’d recently talked about getting married… and Rey knew. 

She just _knew._

The way she’d come across the ring box had been completely innocent; she _hadn’t_ been snooping. She’d called into work on account of some particularly nasty cramps on her heavy flow day, figuring she could sate her latest obsession with all-things-Hawaii by watching _Finding Ohana_ and then catching up on her laundry. Ben had snuffled a few kisses into her messy ponytail on his the way out the door, blinking his big brown eyes, and asked if she’d toss his socks in the wash if he promised to bring her a spam rice bowl with a side of macaroni salad from Aloha Island Grill for dinner. It sounded like a great deal to her.

Sorting and pairing off his white gym socks, bleached and laundered with her _Hawaiian Aloha_ scented laundry detergent, Rey’s mind had wandered back to a conversation they'd had about six weeks ago. 

She’d come into the living room with two bowls full of pineapple chicken and Ben had been staring at the muted television, where a very animated bride on _Say Yes to the Dress_ was crying—hugging everyone in sight—her fingers flapping in a fruitless attempt to prevent her mascara from streaking.

Rey’s head cocked to the side; she was pretty sure when she’d left the room she’d paused a Nature documentary on PBS called _Islands of Wonder,_ but she was distracted from that thought when she observed how miniscule the TV remote looked in Ben’s big hand. Admiring her boyfriend’s generously masculine proportions, Rey placed his bowl on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch, her bowl warm on her belly. She poked at the yellow glazed chicken with her fork, impatiently waiting for it to cool before digging in.

“Do you ever think about getting married?”

Ben’s voice was low, a buzz in the silent room and Rey panicked, quickly stuffing a too-hot bite of pineapple and green pepper in her mouth. 

Tension, or something like it, rippled through Ben’s frame as he resolutely blinked at the television, waiting for her answer. In the silence, the inside of Rey's mouth burned; she puffed out her cheeks to cool her food. 

Honestly, she hadn’t ever thought about it. She could admit that to Ben, right? After a difficult childhood and a series of neglectful foster homes, she’d worked two jobs during high school _and_ undergrad. Scholarships, not relationships, had been her priority. Then in law school, well, forget about it, she’d had a few hookups here and there but those were, more than anything, about blowing off steam after finals, or having fun before the start of the next stressful semester.

After graduation, she’d gotten a job at Amilyn Holdo’s small legal aid firm, and when her roommate Finn had wanted to move in with his boyfriend Poe, Rey took over Poe’s lease in the apartment he’d shared with Ben Solo, and Poe moved in with Finn. 

Rey had spent six months pining over Ben before he’d kissed her one day in their kitchen, confessing his love. That had been almost six months ago.

So where in all that had she had time to think about getting married?

She swallowed the food, now more than cool, chewed to a flavorless pulp, and made a sound indicating _no._ “I haven’t… have you?”

Ben’s hand flexed around the remote, and he rotated it in his hand. “Yeah,” he said, casually, finally coming to sit down next to her. “Sure. I always figured I’d get married someday.” 

He didn’t touch his dinner, but sat sideways on the couch, facing her, his arm along the back of the sofa, behind her neck. “Really?” she asked, a big bite of chicken already in her mouth. “Why?”

“I just like the idea, I guess.” He released a heavy breath through his nose. “I like the idea of having a _person._ Belonging. And I like weddings,” he said, gesturing at the television set where a flood of white floofy dresses spun wildly around the screen. “Generally speaking.”

“What do you like about weddings?” she asked, still stalling. 

He thought about it for a second. “It will feel nice,” he said, in that understated way he had, “to stand up in front of everyone I know and promise to love someone forever. To let everyone know how I feel, and how I aim to live my life.” His eyes had the hint of a smile as he leaned over to tuck her hair behind her ear. “A public announcement. So that the person I’m marrying knows I mean it, when I make my vows.” 

So he had thought about it. More than a little.

“You’re right,” Rey managed, her throat closing up, her strangled voice coming out oddly breathy. “That does sound nice.” She poked at her rice with her fork. “It reminds me of—” 

She stopped abruptly and the stabbing motion of her fork became a little more violent. Ben waited, his thumb bumping up and over her shoulder, back and forth. 

“It reminds me of when I was little,” she said on an exhale. “Thinking that someday there would be a family that wanted to adopt me.” She breathed in sharply, through her nose, and sat up a little straighter. This was always hard, talking about the past, the rejection so constant a companion that it still felt unusual every time she remembered Ben _hadn’t_ rejected her. People always left her, always had, but Ben had told her, right away, that he wasn’t going anywhere, _ever_ and he’d said it enough that she believed him. 

“I had this daydream. When I was feeling bad, I’d imagine I was at a huge party. People would be laughing, singing songs, eating lots of food. I would be surrounded by people that I loved _so much._ And at some point, during the party, I would ask those people if I could join their family and they would say _yes.”_

Ben’s eyes were serious as they flickered across her face. “Sounds like we… want similar things.”

Rey scrounged up her courage. “Maybe even the same thing.”

“Yeah,” Ben had agreed, flipping the channel back to the _Nature_ documentary and picking up his dinner. “Sounds like.”

He had the _biggest_ smile on his face.

So that conversation was on Rey’s mind a few weeks later when she was putting away Ben’s clean socks, feeling exceptionally domestic, securely in love, and there, in the sock drawer, was the ring box.

Her heart instantly kicked into double time.

_Holy shit, he was serious._

She dumped the socks in the drawer and slammed it shut, falling back on the bed, _their bed,_ with her arms spread wide, staring blankly at the ceiling. 

Ben was going to propose. He really loved her. He was going to promise—in front of everyone—never to leave her. He really meant it. She brought her fists to her face and squealed. 

* * *

So here it was, Valentine’s Day. Well, okay, _technically_ it was the day before Valentine’s Day. But it was Saturday night. Date night. And they were going out to dinner. 

It was Valentine’s Day (observed). 

Ben had told her he wanted to get Italian for dinner. She knew he’d been craving the chicken cacciatore at Luigi’s—such a romantic choice—so she dabbed a little perfume on the back of her knees as she did her makeup and let her imagination run wild. 

The smell of warm bread and sizzling vegetables, a candlelit booth in the corner, traditional dinner music... Would Ben drop the ring in a glass of champagne? Would he get on one knee? She slipped on a tasteful little black dress and curled her hair, sighing to think of it. 

She was so giddy, covering up her excitement by chatting animatedly with Ben as he drove, that she wasn’t paying attention to the outside world. So she missed it when Ben drove straight through downtown; he didn’t turn on Main where Luigi’s was. They were halfway to the north side before she looked out the window and realized they were not where she expected them to be.

“Babe,” she asked slowly. A tiny red flag began waving in her mind. “Where are we going?” 

He glanced over at her and back out the windshield. “Olive Garden,” he said, as if she should have known that already. The red flag doubled in size and began twirling madly. 

Frowning, Rey spread her hands across her middle, where her cute little dress already stretched tight across her waist and hips. This was _not_ her unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks outfit. 

_“Oh.”_ Rey injected her tone with as much enthusiasm as she could muster up. “That’s great, yeah. Zuppa toscana, whoo…” she trailed off, her mind in a tailspin. Ben was going to propose at _Olive Garden?_ I mean, she’d still say yes, but… woof. 

Maybe he hadn’t been able to get a reservation at Luigi’s. Because Ben had it in him to be romantic, she knew. He wasn’t necessarily a grand gesture sort of guy, but he was thoughtful, and honest, and a fairly good communicator. He tried really hard, and he inspired her to try, too. She kept this in mind as they pulled into the busy parking lot and shouldered their way through the crowd to the hostess’ station.

“I like this,” Ben murmured in her ear, leaning his large body into hers in the busy waiting room, the sides of his hands brushing against her ass and hips as he pulled her in close. “I like hanging out with my girlfriend.”

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, skeptical yet blushing. “We were _roommates._ We hung out all the time before we… got together.”

“We’d eat together sometimes at home, yeah,” he conceded. “But we never _went out_ together.”

“That’s true,” Rey said, pausing as a bored teen called _“Solo, party of two,”_ and led them through a long twisted path towards their table. When they were seated, and had placed a drinks order, she picked up the conversation. “We never hung out as much as I wanted to. Sometimes I’d come home, and you’d be in your room, and I’d wonder what you were getting up to in there.”

Ben’s lips pushed together, pushing out in a pout before he answered. “Honestly? Usually laying on my bed trying to think up an excuse to get up and go hang out with you.” Rey shook her head, giggling, but Ben insisted, “It’s true. My sweet, brilliant, sexy roommate?” He placed his large hand over hers, covering her from fingertips to her wrist. “I felt the biggest thrill just being near you. I never thought you’d give me the time of day.” His thumb curled under to brush against the back of her hand and Rey’s breath tripped. Was this it? This was it. It had to be. She blinked at him from under her lashes.

But Ben pulled back as their server dropped off a carafe of sangria and two extremely large wine glasses. With a twist of regret, Rey watched as the moment passed—gone in the middle of ordering dinner—Rey dithering between the zuppa and the pasta e fagioli, and Ben making a last minute decision to get the calamari appetizer. 

Ah. Calamari. Delicious, but... no big kisses planned. Got it. 

Their table (not a booth, Rey sighed sadly) was in a large, noisy room, between two long tables where big, multigenerational families ate together, kids running up and down, salad and breadsticks disappearing in mass quantities, as if by magic. Rey, who couldn’t remember _ever_ eating a meal with someone related to her by blood, always watched these scenes in awe.

“You still up for going to my parents’ tomorrow afternoon?” Ben asked around a mouthful of breadstick. “They’re having that get together for my mom’s birthday?”

Rey nodded. Leia’s birthday wasn’t actually until Wednesday, but everyone had agreed that wasn’t a great day for a party. When she’d put the event on her calendar, she hadn’t even realized that Sunday night was technically Valentine’s Day. But that didn’t matter now. Just another day, she supposed. Just another Sunday.

When they’d come home from dinner, Rey had been nearing a sleepy carb coma—and her adrenaline roller coaster had finally crashed. But she wasn’t so out of it that when Ben stepped into the bathroom she made a beeline for the bedroom and peeked in his sock drawer.

The blue Tiffany’s box was still there. She grabbed it, opening it carefully.

In the box, there were some lovely silver twist knot earrings. They were very nice, but not really her style. She bit her lip, and closed the box, unsure what to think. Back in the drawer lay a lilac-colored envelope, which she hadn’t noticed before; she flipped it up to look. On the outside of the envelope was written in Ben’s neat script: _Mom._

Oh. The earrings were for Leia. How silly of her to assume—anything, really. The earrings were Leia’s birthday present. Cool. Cool cool cool. Made total sense, when you thought about it. Rey nodded, putting the card and box back underneath Ben’s socks with trembling hands. Ben was a great son. The very best. Rey was so lucky to be with him. _Just be with him,_ she told herself. She shouldn’t want for anything more. 

Rey lay in bed that night, wondering how she’d got it so wrong.

* * *

Frustratingly awake, Rey rolled from her side onto her back. Ben was already asleep, his breathing soft and regular and she turned her head to watch, his face slack and relaxed. Adorable, in an oversized bear cub sort of way. 

Ben—unlike Rey—always fell asleep so quickly but in the past six months, she’d learned that he—unlike she—slept light. He’d wake up and then quickly fall back asleep again at almost every noise or movement. It wasn’t very restful, but he seemed used to it. 

When she’d rolled to her back, he’d woke up a bit. Blearily, more than half asleep, he turned to his side, slid his heavy arm across her naked belly—Ben ran so hot she regularly slept topless—and pinned her securely in place, which Rey liked, more than she probably should. He never let her go, never left her, when they were in bed. Sighing, she snuggled into Ben’s chest as his fingers curled around her hip and his breathing evened out yet again. 

Rey closed her eyes and began counting her breaths down from one hundred. 

She was startled awake a few hours later, to the feel of Ben’s hot hand sliding underneath her panties. She was barely awake. Tingles broke out across her skin; his unexpectedly stimulating touch making her squirm. Her nipples pebbled and her ribs ached and she gave a little moan as his middle finger slid past her mound and down her slit. She wavered on the edge of wakefulness, pleasure swirling all around.

 _Fuck,_ this was heavenly. 

Breathless, she spread her legs wider by an inch as his fingertip returned to her clit. A wave of drowsiness hit her, met by a tsunami of _want._ She could feel her cunt pulsing with warmth, dripping as his finger moved on her, rubbing slowly, pressing on her clit perfectly, no teasing, not too much sensation, but just right. She trembled, loving that Ben knew her so intimately and so well. 

Desire taking over, her hips bucked into his hand. She was close, so close, closer than she had any right to be after barely a minute of his finger on her, but he’d caught her defenseless. Vulnerable. And she wanted this; she wanted to release this tension, to let go of the disappointing day, to give him everything, and let him take care of her. She was ready.

But Ben’s hand stilled, resting on her pussy, his finger unmoving on her clit; she squeaked in distress as her orgasm slipped away, even as her body buzzed with the pleasurable heft of his hand on her lower belly. Confused, she turned her head, breathing heavily, his face mere inches from hers.

Rey blinked into the darkness as her body burned, unsatisfied, the agony of disbelief curdling through her as, to her horror, Ben began to snore in her ear. 

All sorts of exhausted, she didn’t have the energy—or heart—to wake him. It took her a long time to fall asleep again, but she did.

And she didn’t cry.

Much.

* * *

Sunday morning, Rey woke up right after sunrise. During the night, she and Ben had rolled to their sides and now he was spooning her tight, one thick arm around her front, his hand cupping her breast. Right away, her belly muscles flexed and jumped. Her body desperately longed for him. She woke up ready to _go._

She could feel his cock, firm and heavy, pressed between her ass cheeks and she wiggled, feeling as if she could jump out of her own skin she was so keyed up. She whimpered.

“Good morning,” Ben whispered into the back of her head. 

Rey wanted to say good morning back but when she opened her mouth, “Baby, please—” is what came out. Grinding her ass against his cock, she heard him happily chuckle, as if he was looking forward to a leisurely morning of love-making; Rey panted, frantically. He did _not_ understand what was happening here. Something needy and urgent was winding its way down her spinal cord and she rolled to her back, pushing his hand down her panties. “Please, I need it—”

Ben’s eyebrows scrunched up above his nose. “Sweetheart—?”

Whining, Rey spread her legs wider, inviting him in; she was clenching on _nothing,_ so empty it was torture. Her hands scrabbled fruitlessly at the waistband of Ben’s sleep shorts, desperate to have him inside her.

“Fuck, your pussy is so soft,” Ben groaned and Rey nearly sobbed with joy hearing his hunger, seeing the muscles in his throat twitch—she’d forgotten—she’d completely shaved and moisturized, a special preparation for last night, when she thought they’d be having celebratory engagement sex. But if it got him inside her five seconds faster this morning, then all the hassle would be worth it.

They groaned in unison as two of his fingers sunk into her soaking cunt. It shocked her with the ease at which it happened, the cooperation of her wet and pliant body beyond anything she’d experienced before. He curled his fingers, his thumb nudging her clit and Rey’s back arched off the bed with a wail, her hands tearing at the sheets as she lost control.

“Jesus Rey, what—” 

She couldn’t make out what Ben was saying; blood pounded in her ears. She was spinning, pulsing, lost in the momentum of her climax. Her body was an exploding star. 

With a sweep of his arm, Ben pulled down the sheets, and rolled to sit between Rey’s legs. She shuddered and moaned, his eyes glued to her bare pussy. He wasn’t touching her, and she pushed up on her heels, with an insistent cry, pressing her body towards him, begging for more.

“Baby, _please.”_

He shoved his shorts down his thighs. “The way you're clenching on my fingers, _holy shit,”_ he wheezed as one of Rey’s ankles came to rest on his shoulder. He hoisted her ass up to rest on his thighs and he angled his cock into her slit, impaling her forcefully as one large hand pulled up on her leg, bringing her body in close. _Finally._

Rey was falling, making wild noises, unabashed and _loud,_ unlike anything she’d heard herself make before. Tumbling down a ravine, jolted by punches of pleasure as gravity pulled her body apart. Ben frantically worked her clit with his free hand, the other encircling her ankle, pulling her up and into him as he thrust madly. 

Part of her viciously thrilled to watch him work, seeing the sweat pour down his face as he pounded into her. His eyes rolled back in his head as she came again, though she’d never really _stopped_ coming; her climax was accompanied by an unfettered scream. His shout of release interrupted the squelching and lewd smacks of skin on skin as Rey’s cunt clamped around him. He fell forward, knocking the breath out of her as her internal muscles fluttered to rest around his twitching, sated cock. 

For a moment, only the sounds of their belabored breathing broke the silence. 

“You, um.” Ben managed, before giving up, apparently unable to complete his thought. 

“Yeah,” Rey agreed, blinking up at the ceiling, her body blissfully free of tension, fucked out to perfection. “Yeah.”

But Ben had a sense about these things; he knew that something was up with how electric and needy Rey had been, and when he rolled them both out of bed and into the shower, he wheedled the truth out of her. At least part of it.

She rinsed her face. “—And then you started to touch me,” she informed him.

 _“In my sleep?_ Oh fuck, shit, Rey, I’m sorry—” he panicked.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I liked it. Until you… stopped.” Playfully, she punched him on the shoulder, making light. “Really, it’s fine. All better now.” But his face fell dramatically, and his hands came to frame her jaw, as his lips moved in a silent apology. He dropped a kiss on her lips. His dark lashes were thick with shower spray as he blinked at her.

“Wake me up next time. Please.”

The adoration evident in his eyes was all she ever needed. She nodded. Ben might not be her fiancé, but he was the _best_ boyfriend. And she could wait for an engagement ring, as long as it took. 

Having obtained her promise, Ben kissed his way down her body, throwing one of her legs over his shoulder as he knelt before her. He pressed open mouthed kisses to her cunt, worrying her labia with long, desperately soothing sucks, murmuring apologies and flattery and praise into the crease of her thighs. With his hands and face and cock he kept her happy and distracted until it was time to leave for Han and Leia’s, later that afternoon.

* * *

Rey was surprised. The party was _much larger_ than what she’d assumed Leia would host for a Sunday night get together. There were plenty of people Rey didn’t know in attendance, from the looks of them, all friends of Han and Leia’s. But Ben’s grandparents were there—Leia’s biological _and_ adoptive parents—as well as Ben’s coworkers at the CPA firm, Armitage Hux and Rose Tico. Amilyn Holdo—her boss—waved at her from across the room, and Rey remembered Leia and Amilyn had been friends for decades. A bunch of Rey’s coworkers from the firm were in attendance too—and so were Finn and Poe, which seemed odd, but who knows? Maybe Poe had met Han and Leia when he and Ben were roommates? Rey shrugged. 

Regardless—it was a large gathering—and to Rey’s surprise and delight, Leia had chosen a luau theme. Everyone wore leis, there were large, inflatable palm trees in the corners, and Elvis, live in concert, pumped through the speaker system. The large buffet table was covered in grilled meats, poke, seafood appetizers, and tropical fruit salad. Coolers stuffed full of Kona Brewing beers were in every corner; Ben grabbed a Longboard for Rey.

“Going to see if Hux is going to finally make a move,” he whispered into her ear before he disappeared into the crowd. Rey followed Ben with her eyes to where Hux and Rose stood side by side against the side of the house. Their faces were a riot of red, but they both intently stared at the ground, death grips on their beer bottles. Rey giggled and went to say hi to Amilyn. 

Even though it was a seasonably chilly February night, people had gathered outside around a large fire pit in the backyard that Rey was _sure_ violated city code. Han had created a makeshift imu—a pit where he was cooking actual kālua pig. Heat radiated out from the hot stones. He was really going all out for this party to an amazing degree.

A little later, Ben grabbed Rey’s hand and led her over to where his mom was sitting with his Grandma Padmé, and some other Skywalker relations she hadn’t met yet. He handed over the blue gift box and the birthday card, and Leia cooed over the earrings, kissing Ben’s cheek what seemed like a dozen times before holding Rey tight in a big hug. 

“Thank you,” Leia said for at least the fifteenth time. 

“Oh, it was all Ben,” she squeaked into Leia’s ear. Rey had loosened her arms but Leia still held her tight, so she gave another squeeze. When Leia pulled back her eyes were bright and happy. 

“I’m just so glad you’re here with us, Rey.” 

The party continued well into the evening. Rey got to know Ben’s cousins Jannah and Kaydel, swapping socials and making brunch plans. When she went to grab another beer, she ended up reminiscing with Ben’s great-uncle Owen and Grandpa Anakin about what it was like growing up in the small desert towns of eastern Washington, something they all had in common. Rey hadn’t thought she'd find many ways to connect with Ben’s family. Ever. But she did. They made it easy. 

Across from the fire pit, Poe was strumming softly on a ukulele, partly humming, partly singing the Hawaiian version of _Somewhere Over the Rainbow_ while Finn and Han poked at the roasting pig like they knew what they were doing. Rey’s belly was warm, full of tangy teriyaki and sweet, cinnamony malasadas. It was nice; even standing around in the cold, she never wanted to leave. 

Ben came over to Rey and slid his arm around her shoulders; when she looked up at him, he held up a hibiscus bloom, twisting it between his fingers so its fragrance floated over her face. 

“Oh, it’s lovely. Is that for me?” She smiled wide, admiring the beautiful pink and white bloom as her happiness bubbled up inside her.

“Which ear?” Ben’s voice was so soft, heartbreakingly hopeful, and barely audible above the hubbub of the party behind them. Rey’s heart skipped a beat.

“Which ear...” she repeated, her eyes tracking the movement of the flower as it spun in Ben’s fingertips. He was trembling, but certainly, that was due to the cold. She cleared her throat, needing to make sure they were on the same page. “The hibiscus goes behind my left ear if I’m single, and my right ear if I’m engaged.”

Ben nodded. “So,” he repeated, a hint of anxious humor in his eyes. “Which ear?”

Rey took a breath and looked around, her eyes alighting on the various partygoers: good friends, mixed with people she’d just met; people she hoped she’d be connected with forever. 

Finn was almost in a full body bend backwards as he roared with laughter at something Uncle Chewie said. Poe was getting ukulele tips from Han’s old friend Maz Kanata, while Uncle Lando sang along, making sure everyone had a drink. Just inside the sliding glass doors leading into the house, Amilyn valiantly made small talk with Hux while his desperate eyes followed Rose as she learned a basic Hula move from a sweet grandma named Visas Marr. The elderly Polynesian woman, who wore a floral patterned muʻumuʻu, had arrived with Luke. 

Several things snapped into place at once.

“This is our family,” she breathed. “Everyone is here…” Her eyes snapped up to his, and he swallowed nervously.

“Yes, sweetheart.” 

She felt two tears slide down her cheeks. “There’s food and singing and—” She sniffled noisily. “You did this.” The view through her tear-filled eyes was of a sparkling, beautiful world. “You did this on purpose.”

“I wanted it to be perfect for you,” he admitted, his voice low and tender. “If you asked.”

No point in trying to stop the tears anymore. They flowed freely, soaking her cheeks, salty on her lips. “Ben.” Rey placed her hand over his, her fingertips brushing right where he held onto the flower. “Ben, I want to join your family.”

He nodded; she was sure she’d never love anyone more. “I want that, too, sweetheart.”

She bit her lip. “Then… will you marry me?” she asked, moving their hands in unison so that the hibiscus slid behind her right ear.

Instantly, Ben was kissing her, full on kissing her in public, which he never had much before, but now his hands were on her cheeks, and his lips and tongue were moving on hers with enthusiasm, affirming their love, claiming her, and marking himself as hers. She heard everyone cheer; the clapping and laughing matched the jubilation that burst from every cell of her body when Ben pulled back to smile into her eyes. His hand was on her neck, warm and supportive, and her fingertips lightly traced the shell of his ear.

He gave a small, happy laugh. 

_“Yes.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: 
> 
> Leia’s [birthday earrings ](https://www.international.tiffany.com/jewelry/earrings/tiffany-twist-knot-earrings-11775519/)
> 
> The character of [Visas Marr](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Visas_Marr) is from the Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords game, voiced by [Kelly Hu](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kelly_Hu#:~:text=Kelly%20Hu%20\(born%20February%2013,Republic%20II%3A%20The%20Sith%20Lords.), the only Star Wars actor I could find who was born in Hawaii!
> 
> Thanks to [Ayrt](https://www.twitter.com/dingwa11) and [Love_andbalance](https://www.twitter.com/love_andbalance) for the sensitivity/beta reads!! 💕


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